Released on June 14, 2017
Seventy Saskatchewan communities are awarding 100 high school students with Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship (SYA) Industry Scholarships at graduations this year.Winners are chosen from participants of the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC)’s SYA program, which encourages high school students to explore opportunities in the skilled trades through research and hands-on learning.
Each year teachers and guidance counsellors nominate at least one outstanding graduate who has completed the SYA program and is working to build a career for themselves in the trades. One graduate of each of the summer programs administered by the Regina and District Industry Education Council, the Regina Trades and Skills Centre, and the Saskatoon Industry Education Council also receive scholarships.
The $1,000 scholarship will help with tools, tuition in future years of study and accommodation. Recipients redeem their scholarship within two years of graduation by demonstrating they are actively pursuing a career in the skilled trades—either by apprenticing with an employer and completing Level 1 technical training, or completing a pre-employment program.
“I really appreciated being chosen to receive a Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship Industry Scholarship at my graduation ceremony last week,” SYA Industry Scholarship winner from Grenfell High School Jonathan (Levi) Daniels said. “I am starting to build my own set of hand and power tools and receiving this bursary will allow me to acquire some of these tools that I have been saving for. A special thank you to the Saskatchewan Construction Association for sponsoring my bursary.”
While the SATCC administers and manages the SYA scholarships, they are made possible due to funding by industry partners and the Government of Saskatchewan.
Over the past seven years, 47 industry partners have donated $706,000 to support the future generation of Saskatchewan’s skilled trades workforce. Funding from the Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunities Scholarship (SIOS) brings the total contributions to the SYA Industry Scholarship fund to more than $1.23 million.
“Congratulations to all of the winners of the SYA Industry Scholarship, and thank you to industry for your support of the next generation of the workforce,” Economy Minister Jeremy Harrison said. “We are proud of the achievements of our young people, and look forward to their accomplishments in years to come.”
All graduates of the SYA program receive significant benefits. When they register as an apprentice with the SATCC, their registration fee and first level of technical training are waived, and they receive 300 trade time hours. Currently, there are more than 300 schools registered in the SYA Program and more than 2,900 students participating. In 2016-17, more than 500 students will have completed the program.
“The students who complete the SYA program and demonstrate the merit to receive a scholarship are the type of people we would like to see in our workforce,” SATCC Board Chair Drew Tiefenbach said. “This is why employers and unions continue to donate to this scholarship – it gives back to future generations while also connecting our organizations with the best and the brightest.”
Nearly 6,500 students have completed the SYA Program since its inception in 2009-10. Of those completed, more than 1,100 have registered as apprentices and almost 400 have achieved journeyperson status.
To learn more about the SYA Program, or to contribute to the SYA Industry Scholarship, please visit www.saskapprenticeship.ca or call 1-877-363-0536. You can also like us on Facebook (Sask Apprenticeship), or follow us on Twitter (@SKApprentice).
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For more information, contact:
Julie Woldu
Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0187
Email: julie.woldu@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-537-4692